Should I sell my house privately or use Realtor???

Should I sell my house my self or use realtor?

Well you are ready to make your move and now thinking  “should I sell my house myself and save realtor fees or should I rather find a competent real estate professional to do the job?”.

More you are thinking more you are getting confused. Your brother in-law and/or other relative and/or friends are telling you – why pay so much in fees, sell it yourself or may even some of those are telling you – Hey go with real estate agent.

Let me help you to make right decision by giving you some facts and info – Why to use a professional. Let me start with some example.

If you had some health challenge, would you rather go to pharmacy and pick up some medicines your self or rather go to professional and get the reason of health challenge diagnosed and then let him help you get rid off the problem. Or lets say you got in to trouble with taxes which involve over 100,000 K. would you represent your self or seek professional help. Off course, you will seek professional help right? Well then why the biggest investment of your life which involves hundreds of thousands of $$$ is any different then that?

Let us examine both options separately, go ahead read on….

Use Realtor

A – Use Realtor

1 – Agents know market:

OK, with media spreading negative news most of the time, you can say “Oh I know the market too”. Let us look little deep.

Every licensed realtor here in Ontario is required to complete 24 Continuing Education Credits before they can renew their license every two year. So, even average realtor has to have enough knowledge in order to stay in the industry. All agents have access to many information resources. Here are few examples

• Toronto Real Estate Board – for local market stats,  rules & regulations,
• Provincial Associations info resources
• Canadian Real Estate Association for Stats and Trends
• Many skill building seminars and courses provided by TREB and OREA.
• Brokerage Level provided continuous training and courses.

There are many more, but you get the idea right? When you are working with a licensed competent agent who keeps himself up-to-date and continuously works on getting better and better in skills your biggest investment of life is protected and you get most out of the sale of your home. Here is how,

• Your agent can help you to determine the price of your home – Pricing your home too high or too low can hurt you.
• Your agent will use his resources and do homework, legwork or both to assist you to research market.
• Your agent will help you to determine your buying power, if you are looking to upgrade into bigger home.
• Your agent is obligated under law for fiduciary duties and will protect your interest.

 2 – Vested Interest:

 Your real estate agent has vested interest in getting you top deal. Understand agents only get paid when your home sells and transaction is closed. They are the one who take the most risk – Let me explain,

•  They put in all their time, mental and leg work to market your property.
• They may spend $$$ in print marketing your property in various media (note: there is a misconception that advertising sells property. According to NAR study 82 % homes are sold in the result of agent and/or his company contacts and influence.)
• They may spend $$$ and time in Internet marketing (other then MLS)
• They pay hundreds of dollars in fees to advertise your home in local realtor and public MLS services.
• They spend their time and $$$ on showings, open houses (as per NAR 99% ineffective)
• They will spend hours on phone contacting their contacts of all kinds.

 They (Agents) want to sell that property and they want to sell at maximum possible price, why because they earn more money and more market recognition, vested interest – A win-win situation.

 3 – Fiduciary Duties and Code of Ethics:

 All licensed agents are subject to code of ethics administrated by Real Estate Council of Ontario and are obligated to the following fiduciary duties.

•  Confidentiality
• Loyalty
• Competency
• Obey Lawful instruction
• Accountability

 4 – Buyer’s Preference:

 Above 95 % buyers use a licensed realtor – Here is why,

• To protect them – It is their biggest investment of life.
• To do mental and leg work to find their dream home
• To compare market stats to make sure they are paying right price.
• To help them keep complex process of buying home smooth.
• To figure out their buying power.
• To connect them with right professionals. ie, Mortgage brokers, lawyers, home inspectors etc.
• To negotiate best possible price and terms on their behalf.
• To enjoy all of the above for free.

 5 – Who will buy from FSBOs:

 Why would a buyer give up free services of a licensed realtor? Good questions right?

 Most agents do not bring buyers to for sale buy owners because you are a liability to them. Even though Agents are required to carry Errors and omission insurance, but they rather play it safe. The only time they will bring buyer to FSBO when buyer exclusively asks for it. Then who will buy from FSBO?

• A buyer who is not qualified and can not work with agent and/or looking for under table deal or extraordinary deal.
• An Investor who is always on hunt to find a cheap property and then sell for profit. The property flippers.
• A relative or a friend who knows seller from before and mutual trust exists.

B – Sell Privately:

House for sale by owner

 

 Ok, now that you have read all the benefits of using realtor and you are still thinking whether if you can sell your self or not. If you think it is worth and important to save realtor fees for you. Yes you can do it yourself legally and save realtor fees if,

• You are a seller who is not in hurry and has a lot of time some times over year.
• You are backed by a good real estate attorney who will protect you in case of legal issues arising from sale of your home.
• You already have a potential buyer (a friend, relative etc) who is capable of buying.
• You have ability to keep your emotions separate from negotiations.
• You have time to learn about the process.
• You have time to show prospects, do open houses, and respond to ad calls.
• You are calm and cool and can handle tension, complications and rejections.

Hope above info will help you to make decision which is right for you. Thanks for reading.  Zahid Moghal, Sales Rep, Remax 2000 Realty inc. All rights reserved